Cam loom apparatus



Feb. 2, 1960 'r. R. JOHNSON 2,923,324

CAM LOOM APPARATUS Filed Jan. 26, 1959 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll 1 INVENTOR. 5 Thomas R. Tohnson BW,M+W

flfforn eyS Feb. 2, 71960 T. R. JOHNSON 2,923,324

CAM LOOM APPARATUS Filed Jan. 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' '9 59 V INVENTOR.

Thomas R JBhnson I 1 5 W1 M fl-fforneys United States Patent() CAM LOOM APPARATUS Thomas R. Johnson, Sylacauga, Ala., assignor to Avondale Mills, a corporation of Alabama Application January 26, 1959, Serial No. 789,115

10 Claims. (Cl. 139-79) This invention relates to cam loom apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus which shall be adapted for producing a plaid or check pattern in cloth as the cloth is weaved.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide cam loom apparatus of the character designated which shall include improved means for holding down selected ones of the treadles at predetermined timed intervals whereby the treadle is' held down for at least one pick of the weave to position that pick of filling above the warp ends thus held down.

Another object of my invention is to provide cam loom apparatus of the character designated in which the size of the individual checksin the cloth may be readily varied to produce cloth having various size checks.

A further object of my invention is to provide cam loom apparatus of the character designated which shall include a flexible connection between the treadle and the means for holding the treadle down whereby the loom may be rotated in a reverse direction to catch the correct pick without having to rotate the loom forward a complete repeat of the pattern.

A still further object of my invention is to provide loom apparatus of the character designated which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and which shall be adapted for installation on conventional type loom apparatus with a minimum of alterations and maintenance.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

' Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view, partly broken away and in section, showing my improved apparatus associated with a conventional type under-cam loom;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 22 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the laterally extending member carried by the treadle in position to be engaged by and held down by an actuating member upon predetermined timed revolutions of the loom apparatus;

' Fig. 5 is a fragmental view, partly in section, showing a single actuating member carried by the auxiliaryrotary member;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental view, partly in section, showing four actuating members carried by the auxiliary rotary member;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmental view, partly broken away and in section, showing a relatively wide laterally extending member carried by the treadle whereby the treadle is held down for more than one pick of the weave;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmental view, partly broken away and in section, showing the actuating member as having a relatively wide contact surface whereby the treadle is held down for more than one pick of the weave; and,

Patented Feb. 2, 1960 Referring now to the drawings for a better understandgenerally along the ing of my invention, I show a loom frame indicated generally at 10. Mounted for rotation in suitable bearings 11 and 12 on the frame 10 is a cam shaft 13. Mounted non-rotatably on the cam shaft 13 are cams 14, 16 and 17 which are adapted to engage cam followers 18 carried by treadles 19, 21 and 22, respectively. The cam follower 18 being in contact with the circumference of the earns 14, 16 or 17, as the case may be, results in the treadle and harness connected thereto being lowered when that part of the cam farthest from the shaft comes in contact with the cam follower. The treadles 19, 21 and 22 are fulcrumed at the back side of the frame 10 to a shaft 23. The other or forward ends of the treadles 19, 21 and 22 are attached to the harnesses 24, 26 and 27 by means of straps 28, 29 and 31, respectively. In view of the fact that I show three harnesses in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, there will be three sets of warp threads raised and lowered independently of each other. The harnesses are raised and lowered in a definite order so that a certain weave or method of interlacnig the filling with the warp will be followed out; for instance, with the warp drawn through the harnesses of a three harness loom in regular order from front to back, there will be two harnesses up and one harness down for each pick of the weave whereby the filling is not exposed at the upper surface of the cloth. In other words, the filling will pass under two warp ends for each warp end that it passes over. Accordingly, the upper surface of the cloth will have the general appearance of the warp ends.

In order to expose more of the filling at the upper surface of the cloth at predetermined intervals to form a check or plaid in the cloth, I provide mechanism for holding down selected ones of the treadles at timed intervals whereby the apparatus has one harness up and two harnesses down, thereby exposing more of the filling at the upper surface of the cloth. The longitudinally extending lines in the cloth which form the longitudinally extending portion of the plaids or checks is formed by providing different colored Warp ends at the desired spaced intervals transversely of the cloth. The transverse lines or transverse portions of the plaids or checks are formed by exposing more of the filling atthe upper surface of the cloth at selected spaced intervals.

Power is supplied to the loom by a power shaft 32 having a pulley 33 mounted thereon. The pulley 33 is operativly connected to a pulley 34 by means of a drive belt 36. As shown in Fig. 1, the pulley 34 is mounted on a shaft 37 of a motor 38. Also mounted on the shaft 32 is a gear 33 which meshes with a gear 34 carried by a shaft 36 As shown in Fig. 1, the shaft 36 is supported by a right hand idle gear stand indicated generally at 35. Mounted on the shaft 36* is a gear 33 which is in mesh with a gear 39 carried by the cam shaft 13. The apparatus just described is conventional type driving mechanism for the cam shaft. My improved means for holding down selected ones of the treadles at selected timed intervals will now be described.

Mounted on the cam shaft 13 is a gear 41 which is in mesh with a gear 42 carried by a shaft 43. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the shaft 43 is supported by a left hand idler gear stand indicated generally at 44. Also mounted on the shaft 43 is a gear 46 which is in mesh with a gear 47 carried by a shaft 48 which is mounted for rotation in suitable bearings 49.

Secured to the shaft 48, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, are radially extending arms 51 and 52. Mounted at the outer ends of the arms 51 and 52 are laterally extending actuating members 53 and 54, respectively, which are disposed to engage the treadle 22 whereby the treadle isl'hclddownsfor at least-one pickof the weave each time,

loom. forward a complete repeat of the pattern, I provide the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Secured 1000116 side of the treadle 2-2 is an outwardly projecting bracket 56 having a suitable opening therein for receiving apivot pin 57. A bracket 58 is secured to the inner surfaceof an L-shaped member 59 and is connected to the bracket 56 by the pivot pin 57. One leg 61 of the L-shaped bracket59 extends downwardly alongside the treadle 22 adjacent the bracket 56 while the upper, horizontal leg 62 extends beyond the other side of the treadle 22, as shown in Fig. 4. The actuating members 53 and 54 engage the portion of the horizontal leg 62 which projectsbeyond the treadle 22. As shown in Fig. 4, a recess 63 is provided in the side of the treadle 22 and a recess 64 is provided in the adjacent side of the leg 61 of the L-shaped member 59 for receiving a compression spring 66 whereby the horizontal leg 62 is urged into.

engagement with the upper surface of the treadle 22. Accordingly, the loom may be rotated in a reverse direction to catch a correct pick without having to rotate the loom forward a complete repeat of the pattern. That is, upon reverse rotation of the loom, the actuating members 53 and S4 engage the under surface of the outwardly projecting portion of the leg 62 whereby the spring .66 is compressed to permit upward movement of the free end of the leg 62. Accordingly, the actuating members are free to pass relative to the outwardly projecting portion of the leg 62 when they are moving in a reverse direction. On the other hand, when the actuating members 53 and 54 engage the upper surface of the horizontal leg 62 of the L-shaped bracket, the leg 62 engages the treadle 22 and thus holds the same down until the actuating member moves out of engagement with the L-shaped member 59.

Also mounted on the shaft or auxiliary rotary member 48 by suitable means, as shown in Fig. 2 are radially extending arms 67 and 68 having actuating members 69 and 71, respectively, adjacent the free ends thereof which are in position to engage an L-shaped member 59 carried by the treadle 19. The actuating members 69 and 71 extend laterally from the arms 67 and 68 in position to engage the outwardly extending projection of the horizontal leg 62 of the L-shaped bracket 59, in the manner described hereinabove.

By providing diametrically opposed actuating members '53 and 54 on the arms 51 and 52 and the diametrically opposed actuating members 69 and 71 on the arms 67 and 68, the treadles 22 and 19 are held down by the actuating members twice each time the shaft 48 makes one revolution. In 'view of the fact that-the arms 51 and 52 extend at right angles to the arms 67 and 68, there will be an actuating member in engagement with one of the treadles 19 or 22 upon each 90 degrees rotation of the shaft 48. Accordingly, each time the shaft 48 completes 90 degrees rotation there will be two harnesses down and one harness up, thus exposing more of the filling at the upper surface of the cloth each time the shaft 48 completes 90 degrees rotation. That is to say, there would be four laterally extending plaid or check lines formed in the cloth each time the shaft 48 makes one complete revolution.

In Fig. of the drawings, I show one arm 72 carried by the shaft or auxiliary rotary member 48 and having an actuating member 73 carried thereby in position to engage anL-shaped bracket 59 carried by the treadle .19, "r.2z, asthe case may be. Accordingly, with the embodiment shown in Fig. 5,'the treadle will be held down pnly when the, shaft makes one, complete revolution.

vBy. providing. 'a;.single.,.actuating, member .73.. for each...of

the treadles 19 and 22 two harnesses will be held down at the completion of each of rotation of the shaft 48. Accordingly with a single actuating member 73 for each of the treadles 19 and 22, two transverse plaid or check lines will be formed in the cloth upon each revolution of the shaft 48.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings, I show four radially extending arms 74, 76, 77 and 78 carried by the shaft or auxiliary rotary member 48. The arms 74, 76, 77 and 78carry actuating members 79, 81, 82, and 83, respectively, which are in. position to engage a subjacent L-shaped member 59 carried by a treadle 19 or 22, as the case may be. With the apparatus shown in Fig. 6, the treadle 19 will be held down for at least one pick of the weave each time one of the actuating members comes in contact with the L-shaped member 59. That is, for each; revolution of the shaft 48, the L-shaped. member 59 will be held. down four times to thus apply fourplaid or; check linesin the cloth. By providingfour actuat ing members for each of the treadles 19 and 22, there will be a. treadle held down for at least one pick of the weave each time-the shaft completes 45degrees rotation. Accordingly, with this arrangement there would be eight plaid or check lines formed in the cloth each time the shaft'48 completed one revolution.

In Fig. 7 of the drawings, I show another modified form of my invention in which I .employ a relatively wide L-shaped bracket 59 which is of a sufiicient width to hold the. treadle 1901' 22, as the case may be, down for more than one pick of the weave. The L-shaped member 59 is actuated by a laterally extending actuating member 84 carried by a radially extending armz86 which in turn is carried by-shaft or auxiliary rotary member 48 in the manner described above.

In Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, I. show another modified form. of my invention in which I employ a relatively wideactuating member 87 which is preferably arcuate in shape, as shown in Fig. 8. The actuating member 87 is carried'by a radially extending arm 88 whichin-turn is secured to. and carried by the shaft .or auxiliary rotary member 48 in the manner described above. Also, the actuating member 87 engages an L- shaped member 59 in the manner described above. By providing a relatively wide actuating member 87, the actuatingmember is in contact with the L-shaped member 59 a sufiicient length of time to hold the treadle down for more than one pick-of the weave.

In addition to mounting a selected number'of actuating members in position to engage the L-shaped brackets 59 carried by the treadles, the time interval between engagement of the actuating member with the treadle may be further adjusted by varying the speed at which the shaft 48 rotates. That is, by speeding up the rotation of shaft 48, the actuating members would engage the treadles .at-closer. intervals. On the other hand, by slowing down .the'rotation. of shaft 48, there would be a greater distance between the plaid or check lines formed in the cloth.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised improved apparatus for forming plaid or check lines in fabric. By providing an actuating member or actuating members which engage selected ones of the treadles at predetermined timed intervals, the check or plaid formed inthe fabricmay be varied. Also, it will beapparent that my improved apparatus is readily adaptable for use with conventional type loom apparatus.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modificationswithout departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations 'be placed'thereupou' as are-specifically set forth in the appended'claims;

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a cam loom having a rotary shaft with cams mounted thereon in position to engage cam followers carried by fulcrumed treadles whereby each treadle and the harness connected thereto is lowered and raised in response to rotation of the cam shaft, of an auxiliary rotary member operatively connected to the cam shaft in predetermined timed relationship, an actuating member carried by said auxiliary rotary member in position to engage a treadle at selected timed intervals upon rotation of said auxiliary rotary member whereby the treadle engaged by the actuating member and its associated harness is held down for at least one pick of the weave to position that pick of filling above the warp ends held down by said actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

2. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 1 in which there are a plurality of angularly spaced actuating members carried by the auxiliary rotary member in position to engage a treadle at selected timed intervals upon rotation of the auxiliary rotary member whereby the treadle is held down for at least one pick of the weave each time it is engaged by an actuating member.

3. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 1 in which a second actuating member is carried by said auxiliary rotary member in position to engage a second treadle at selected timed intervals upon rotation of said rotary member whereby the treadle engaged by the second actuating member and its associated harness is held down for at least one pick of the weave to position that pick of filling above the warp ends held down by said second actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

4. The combination with a cam loom having a rotary shaft with cams mounted thereon in position to engage cam followers carried by fulcrumed treadles whereby each treadle and the harness connected thereto is lowered and raised in response to rotation of the cam shaft, of an auxiliary rotary member operatively connected to the cam shaft in predetermined timed relationship, a laterally projecting actuating member carried by said auxiliary rotary member, a laterally extending member carried by a treadle in position to be engaged by said laterally projecting actuating member at timed intervals upon rotation of said auxiliary rotary member whereby the treadle carrying the laterally extending member and its associated harness is held down for at least one pick of the weave to position that pick of filling above the warp ends held down by said laterally projecting actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

5. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 4 in which a second actuating member is carried by said auxiliary rotary member in position to engage a second treadle at timed intervals upon rotation of said rotary member whereby the treadle engaged by the second actuating member and its associated harness is held down for at least one pick of the weave to position that pick of filling above the warp ends held down by said second actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

6. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 4 in which the laterally extending member carried by the treadle is pivotally mounted on the treadle whereby upon rotation of the auxiliary rotary member in one direction the laterally extending member and its associated treadle is held down and upon rotation in the reverse direction the laterally projecting actuating member moves the laterally extending member about its pivot point to permit movement of the laterally projecting actuating member relative to the laterally extending member.

7. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 4 in which the laterally extending member is in the form of an L-shaped bracket with one leg extending alongside and pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the treadle with the other leg of the L-shaped bracket extending over and projecting beyond the other side of the treadle in position to be engaged by the laterally projecting actuating member.

8. The combination with a cam loom as defined in claim 7 in which the lower end of the leg of the L- shaped bracket which extends alongside the treadle is urged outwardly by a spring member interposed between the treadle and said lower end of the leg.

9. The combination with a cam loom having a rotary shaft with cams mounted thereon in position to engage cam followers carried by fulcrumed treadles whereby each treadle and the harness connected thereto is lowered and raised in response to rotation of the cam shaft, of an auxiliary rotary member operatively connected to the cam shaft in predetermined timed relationship, a laterally projecting actuating member carried by said auxiliary rotary member, a relatively wide laterally extending member carried by a treadle in position to be engaged at timed intervals by said laterally projecting actuating member upon rotation of said auxiliary rotary member, said laterally extending member being of a width for the treadle carrying the laterally extending member and its associated harness to be held down for a plurality of picks of the weave to position such picks of filling above the warp ends held down by said laterally projecting actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

10. The combination with a cam loom having a rotary shaft with cams mounted thereon in position to engage cam followers carried by fulcrumed treadles whereby each treadle and the harness connected thereto is lowered and raised in response to rotation of the cam shaft, of an auxiliary rotary member operatively connected to the cam shaft in predetermined timed relationship, a laterally projecting actuating member carried by said auxiliary rotary member, a laterally extending member carried by a treadle in position to be engaged at selected timed intervals by said laterally projecting actuating member upon rotation of said auxiliary rotary member, said laterally projecting member being of a width for the treadle carrying the laterally extending member and its associated harness to be held down for a plurality of picks of the weave to position such picks of filling above the warp ends held down by said laterally projecting actuating member and its associated treadle and harness.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

